There's only one team playing finals ready football consistentlyMick Malthouse
Herald Sun
11 June 2017WE’RE at the half way mark of the season and there is only one team consistently playing finals-ready football.
There is a distinct difference between home-and-away and finals form.
The Western Bulldogs won the premiership from seventh place last year and reset the benchmark. There is no reason why any side in the top eight, with momentum, can’t at least make the Grand Final, as long as its game structure is based on pressure football and has a strong defensive element.
Right now only the Western Bulldogs have it.
The reigning premier might not have the best win-loss record, but when they win they win hard, and when they lose they usually die hard.
Thursday night’s loss to Sydney was poor and out of the blue — albeit in very wet conditions. But with no other standout team, I think the Dogs still have the structure to be there when the whips are cracking.
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I place Richmond above West Coast and Fremantle because of the brilliance of Dustin Martin and the lift in form of captain Trent Cotchin.
It has the best key-back in the competition in Alex Rance and, with Jack Riewoldt seemingly playing closer to goal, there’s more chance of a decent score being kicked each week.
But the Tigers still struggle to completely close down the opposition, and continue to commit too many turnovers to be really credible.
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It’s been a strange season because of the inconsistency of teams unable to measure up every week.
But the one non-variable so far is the team that has played the hardest and won the contested football, has generally prevailed. Let this be a lesson for the coming weeks as September looms large.
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